Watch the fine print: Colleges should take steps now to prepare for federal regulation changes
University Business
Alcino Donadel
July 18, 2023
With the upcoming academic year rolling around the corner, higher education leaders may be tempted to take their foot off the gas for a bit and enjoy the warm months. However, colleges and institutions may be overwhelmed and overran by the minutiae of regulatory changes ramping up in financial aid and Title IX offices this academic year.
“FAFSA Simplification is going to make this the most complicated year we have seen perhaps ever,” says Maureen Anderson, a financial aid consultant for Financial Aid Services and a former director of financial aid at Santa Fe College (Fla.). “The 2023-24 academic year is the most daunting and complicated year for all that is coming in 24-25.”
Federal Student Aid is hosting 11 webinars throughout June and July to discuss the changes. “I feel like I’m in two a week just learning,” Anderson says.
While financial aid’s admissions cycles, student expectations and processing cycles change, one must consider the legal ramifications the Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action will also have on it.
“We have more questions than answers right now, but we would have to be naive to think that this won’t eventually affect financial aid in some way,” says Justin Draeger, president and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA).
On top of these challenges, Title IX offices are preparing for Biden’s long-awaited Title IX changes announced in October. With more than 240,000 comments in May on Biden’s proposed changes, Title IX offices must be ready for anything once changes are finalized.
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